Pantyhose construction

ABSTRACT

A pantyhose garment of various constructions includes at least in a portion of the panty adjacent the crotch and preferably throughout the panty a terry stitch structure on either the outside or inside of the garment. The terry construction prevents runs and laddering adjacent the crotch and also provides softness, absorbency and opacity wherever it is used.

United States Patent 11 1 Moody 1451 Sept. 11, 1973 PANTYHOSE CONSTRUCTION {75] Inventor: Robert .I. Moody, Franklin, NH.

[73] Assignee: Scott & Williams, lnc., Laconia,

22 Filed: Jan. 27, 1972 211 Appl. No.: 221,374

[52] U.S. Cl 2/224 R [51] Int. Cl A4lb 9/04 [58] Field of Search 2/224 R, 227, 239; 66/177 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS R25,360 3/1963 Rice 2/224 R 3,208,242 9/1965 Fors 66/177 3,449,932 6/1969 Fillmore et a1 2/224 R X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,214,549 12/1970 Great Britain 2/224 R Primary ExaminerH. Hampton Hunter Att0rneyHarold F. McNenny, Richard H. Dickinson,.lr. et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A pantyhose garment of various constructions includes at least in a portion of the panty adjacent the crotch and preferably throughout the panty a terry stitch structure on either the outside or inside of the garment. The terry construction prevents runs and laddering adjacent the crotch and also provides softness, absorbency and opacity wherever it is used.

10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures This invention relates generally to knitted hosiery and more particularly to ladies hosiery of the pantyhose type in which the two leg portions and a panty are combined as an integral unit.

Pantyhose have been produced in a variety of constructions including early types in which a panty was formed separately and stocking portions were sewn or otherwise secured to the bottom of the leg openings of the panty to form the complete unit. However, according to more recent developments the pantyhose is formed as a circular or seamless knit blank including all the normal stocking portion below the panty down through the foot and toe and the panty portion is knit as an integral portion of the stocking up to the waistband so that along the outside of the unit the knit stitches proceed walewise in unbroken fashion from the toe through the leg to the panty waistband. The completed pantyhose may be formed from such blanks in a plurality of ways including the well known method disclosed in the US. Pat. to E. G. Rice Re No. 25,360 granted Mar. 26, 1963 in which two similar blanks are provided with a vertical slit in their adjacent portions and seamed together with a continuous U-shaped seam from the waistband through the crotch and back to the waistband. This construction, while offering simplicity and low cost of manufacture, has created problems, particularly with respect to higher quality garments in that it tends to leave insufficient material in the panty portion since the number of wales is determined in the knitting of the rest of the blank.

In order to provide more room in the panty portion it has been customary to provide a third piece which is generally provided in the seat portion which extends from the waistband downward to terminate in a Y-seam junction .at a point adjacent the crotch. This construction, which requires either the wasteful use of material knit on circular machines or requires a piece tobe knit on a full-fashioned flat bed machine, adds substantially to the cost as well as to the quality of the garment.

One of the reasons for lack of sufficient material in the panty, as previously discussed, has been that the number of wales is determined in the leg. While the leg may be knit from a relatively sheer yarn of say, denier, it is desirable for both strength, opaqueness and feel that the panty portion be knit of substantially heavier yarn, and the use of such heavy yarns causes a reduction in the natural stretch and fit of the panty fabrrc.

Another problem of prior pantyhose construction has occurred in efforts to adapt certain methods of closing the toe of the stocking on the knitting machine during the knitting of the pantyhose blank. These methods either require or are more advantageously carried out by knitting the pantyhose blank in the reverse direction, that is from the toe up the leg, to terminate in the waistband. portion. When such blanks are seamed together to form the completed pantyhose, particularly but not exclusively in the two-piece construction discussed above, there is a particular point of stress in the crotch portion. This arises not only because of the distribution of stress when the pantyhose is on the wearer, but also because the slitting of the blank terminates in a way that the fabric makes an abrupt transition from a continuous course to a broken course without the presence' of any compensating knitted structure to distribute the stress to the adjacent stitches, both walewise and coursewise. Since this naturally produces a tendency for yam breakage resulting in laddering at this point, the problem is particularly acute in stockings knitted toe first because the ladder now tends to run downward toward the toe rather than upward back to the seam.

The present invention overcomes these and other and additional problems of prior art construction by providing a novel arrangement in which, at least at the portion adjacent the crotch, that is at the end of the slit cut in the partially finished blank, an area of terry stitches is provided by knitting a lighter terry yarn over the nebs of the sinkers with a heavier ground yarn being knit on the sinker ledge so that the extended terry loops lengthened by the distance over the nebs project from the interior surface of the fabric being knit. The actual fabric construction of the ground yarn may be of any conventional type, either plain jersey, 1 X l tuck, or

mesh style, and may be of the same construction as the sheer leg portion of the blank. The knitting of the two yarns together through the needle loops provides a runresistant structure because the breaking of either the ground or the terry yarn, but not both, does not affect the basic fabric structure, and any tension applied to an area having a broken yarn merely results in additional binding or clamping of the broken yarn by the unbroken one. Thus, the non-run structure exists even if the terry loops are cut, by the sinkers or otherwise, although according to the preferred construction the loops remain uncut.

According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, all the portion of the panty from a point below the crotch up to the waistband is knit with a terry construction, but alternatively the terry construction may be limited in area either to the circular zones extending either side of the bottom point of the crotch or to a limited area restricted both walewise and coursewise to the zone immediately adjacent the crotch.

While the foregoing run-resistant construction is considered an important feature o f the invention, it has also been noted that the use of a terry construction in the panty portion produces numerous other advantages even when used in arrangements where the terry construction does not provide a run-resistant function. As previously stated, one of the'problems in knitting the panty portion of pantyhose has been the need to provide a certain amount of strength and opacity of the panty fabric and this can generally be accomplished only by using heavyyarns which limit the stretch of the fabric. However, the use of the terry fabric in the panty portion allows the ground yarn to be of lower denier and, if desired, of a stretch type which can give more extensivity and fit to the fabric. Furthermore, the pile of the terry fabric results in a much more opaque structure which may be sufficient in some instances to eliminate the need of wearing a separate panty over or under the pantyhose for purposes of warmth and modesty.

Furthermore, the use of a terry construction allows the ground yarn to be of a high tensile strength nylon not particularly noted for its pleasant feel or comfort characteristics, while the terry yarn may be-of another type including high-bulk nylon, polyester, acrylic or even cotton where maximum softness and absorbency are considered highly desirable. When the terry construction is used for this purpose, it may be also utilized in the panel insert of the three-piece construction previously discussed wherein the remainder of the pantyhose may be of either terry or conventional construction.

The foregoing and other and additional objects of the invention will readily be appreciated by those skilled in the art upon more understanding of the invention as described in the following detailed description and shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pantyhose garment constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the panty and upper leg portion according to another embodiment of the invention;

FlG. 3 is an exploded diagram before assembly of a three-piece pantyhose construction according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of the upper portion of a slit pantyhose blank according to still another em bodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, FIG. 1 shows a pantyhose garment sewn from right and left leg members or blanks and 11 respectively. These leg members are preferably identical as knit on the knitting machine and may be formed in any manner apart from the particular aspects of this invention as described hereinafter in greater detail. The leg members 10 and 1 1 are knit as a continuous blank between the foot portion 10 and the waistband 13, the knitting being done in either direction, and then are each provided with a vertical slit. The adjacent edges of the slits are sewn together along the seam 12 extending from the waistband 13 down through the crotch 21 up to the opposite side of the waistband 13. The waistband 13 may be either an integral portion of the blanks or a separate member sewn on. It will be understood that this construction is generally in accordance with the teachings of Rice US Pat. Re. No. 25,360.

Each of the regular sections or blanks 10 and 11 has a foot portion 16 and a leg portion 17 which may be identical and may include different yarns with or without a reciprocated heel structure and are generally knit from a sheer nylon yarn of, for example, a denier or heavier, if desired, in a plain jersey or micromesh stitch 7 construction, but this construction need not be described in greater detail since it forms no portion of the present invention.

The leg portion 17 terminates at its upper end in a yarn change zone 18 which also identifies thelower end of the panty portion 19. The yarn change zone 18 is located below the crotch 21 at the upper end of the leg portion 17 and it is at this point the novel fabric structure of this invention begins. According to one feature of the preferred embodiment, the entire panty portion 19 from the yarn change zone 18 up to the waistband 13 is knit with a terry fabric construction with either a plain jersey or a l X l tuck stitch, although other stitch structures comprising a combination of knit, tuck and welt stitches may be used. This may be knit either single or multi-feed and both a ground yarn and aterry yarn are knit at each feed. The knitting machine may be of any conventional type of about 400 needles used for the production of fine-gage ladies seamless hosiery and is provided with terry type sinkers and a sinker control mechanism adapted, during terry knitting, to advance the sinkers to a position intermediate the withdrawn and theknockover positions. the knockover When the terry knitting begins, as stated, two yarns are fed at each feed station with the ground yarn being introduced at a low level so that the yarn is fed over the sinker ledges and under the hook or neb so that it is knit with a conventional type stitch structure. It is understood that this ground yarn is fed at a lower level than used in normal knitting when the terry sinkers are in the active position during terry knitting but the special needle control is not necessary since all the needles will be raised to a high clear position before receiving yarn.

The terry yarn is fed at the regular level through a regular feed finger and because of the advanced position of the terry sinkers will pass over the tops of the sinker nebs, and when drawn by the needles will form a larger loop over the nebs than the ground yarn forms over the sinker ledges, resulting in a terry loop pile construction.

While in normal pantyhose construction, the panty portion is usually knit of either a plain jersey stitch or l X l tuck stitch, it has heretofore been necessary to use a heavier yarn in this construction to provide the necessary strength of fabric. With the present terry construction it is possible to use a lighter ground yarn, of for example, a total denier of 40, such as 2/20 plied yarn which provides sufficient strength in the terry structure without the loss of softness and resiliency that would result from the use of a heavier yarn. The terry yarn may be of any type, including preferably high-bulk nylon, polyester, acrylic or cotton and may range between 20 and 40 denier or even higher if more bulk is desired, depending upon the yarn material.

It is also understood that if high stretch characteris tics are desired the ground yarn may be either a stretch type nylon or a spandex, covered or uncovered, but of course the use of such latter yarns results in greater bulk in the panty fabric.

It has been recognized, as stated in said Rice U.S. Pat. Re No. 25,360, that there would be a tendency of the panty fabric to run in the portion where the vertical slit terminates because of the high concentration of stress in this area. With the present terry construction the fabric has a natural run-resistant characteristic because the terry yarns are unstressed, but being knit through the needle loops with the ground yarn tend to bind the yarns together with sufficient friction that a breakage of the ground yarn does not allow the loops to slip part readily to cause running or laddering.

This run-resistant structure is particularly valuable where the leg blanks are knit toe-first as is done when the stocking blank is knit on aclosed toe machine in which the toe is closed during the knitting of the toe portion and the knitting proceeds in the direction up the leg. When the knitting is done in this direction the natural tendency of running is down the leg rather than upward through the seam 12, and since the runs end to occur in the area ofthe crotch 21 adjacent the seam 12, because this is a point of greatest stress in the garment, the run will tend to be confined within the adjacent stitches and will not reach downward into the leg portion 17 where it could readily continue into the foot portion 16.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 2 which shows the upper portion of a pantyhose garment similar to that of H6. 1 having right and left leg members or blanks 25 and 26 respectively which terminate at the upper end in a waistband 27. The leg members and 26 are joined together along a U- shaped seam 28 extending from the side of the waistband 27 through the crotch 21 and back to the waistband 27 at a point substantially diametrically opposite the beginning of the seam. Each of the blanks 25 and 26 are of substantially similar construction having a relatively sheer leg portion 29 which terminates at a band 32- which is knit of the terry construction referred to above. The band 32, according to this embodiment, extends only in a zone directly above and below the crotch 31 and the remainder of the panty portion 33 between the terry band 32 and the waistband 27 may be knit of any conventional construction heretofore used for the panty portions of pantyhose garments. Again, with this arrangement the terry construction provides the run-resistant functions as described hereinabove in connection with the embodiment of FIG. 1.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 3 where the pantyhose is made of the well known three-piece construction including an additional insert to give greater fullness in the panty portion. With this arrangement, which is shown in an exploded view before the parts are sewn together and the waistband added, the garment consists of right and left leg members or blanks 41 and 42 and. an insert 43 in the panty portion. EAch'of the leg members 41 and 42 includes a leg portion 45 which terminates at its upper end in the yarn change zone 46 above which is the panty portion 47. As can be seen, the leg members are slit in the same manner as in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2, but rather than being sewn together completely around the periphery of a single scam, the insert member 43 formed with a tapered portion is sewn into the rear or seat portion of the pantyhose to give extra fullness at this pointand extends from the waistband and terminates at its lower end in a pointed portion 44 at a Y- seam in the crotch area. Since the insert 43 is a separate member, it may either be sewn from the fabric the same as in the rest of the panty portion 47, or if desired may be knit on a full-fashion or flat bed machine.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 the terry portion is shown as being on the exterior of the pantyhose. When the terry fabric of this invention is knit as described above in connection with the embodiment of FIG. 1, the terry loops, being sinker loops, necessarily appear on the inside of the tubular fabric as it is knit and do not project on the outside, which then has a relatively smooth finish, although not as smooth as a plain jersey fabric, because the inclusion of the bulk type terry yarn adds an additional softness in spite of the tightness of the needle loops on theface of the fabric. Thus, in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2 the sewing of blanks as produced on the machine without inversion of the blank would produce an exterior seam so that when the fabric is necessarily inverted to bring the seam on the inside of the garment the terry loop or pile portion of the fabric appears on the exterior. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3 it is also possible to invert the fabric before sewing so that afterv sewing it is turned right side out and the terry side 48 is on the inside of the garment and the plain side 49 is on the outside.

Another arrangement which provides the runresistant features of the terry fabric in a minimum area of knitting, if the terry structure is not desired through- .out the panty portion, is shown in the embodiment of FIG. 4. This figure-shows a leg blank 56 before sewing including a sheer leg portion 58, a yarn change zone 59 and a heavy panty portion 61 between the yarn change zone 59 and the upper or waist edge 62. With this arrangement a terry panel 66 limited both walewise and coursewise is knit in what will become the crotch portion so that the slit 63 formed in the blank prior to sewing will terminate in the area of the panel 66. It will be understood that the terry panel may be knit by providing only terry sinkers in the zone of the needles knitting this portion of the garment and the terry yarn may either be knit in the rest of the courses or floated by needle selection in a splicing type arrangement and the terry yarns, being introduced to the high feed position, are not knit by the remainder of the needles outside the terry zone and the loose float or splicing ends of the terry yarn are cut in the well known manner.

With this arrangement the terry fabric is present only in the crotch portion where the problem of running and laddering remains greatest and the remainder of the panty portion 61 may then be knit in any other manner desired.

Although several preferred embodiments of this in vention have been shown and described in detail, it is recognized that other modifications and arrangements will readily occur to those skilled in the art and may be used within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims:

What is claimed is:

l. A pantyhose garment having a pair of leg portions, a waistband and a panty portion interconnecting said leg portions and said waistband, said garment including a pair of circularly knit seamless leg units and seam means joining said leg units, each of said leg units comprising a substantially sheer fabric in the leg portion and a heavier fabric knit of yarn of a higher denier than the yarn of said sheer fabric in said panty portion, said heavier fabric including at least a portion having a fabric structure of the terry type including a ground yarn and a terry loop yarn knit with said ground yarn and having free yarn portions adapted to extend in unstressed condition outward from the fabric of said ground yarn.

2. A pantyhose garment as set forth in claim 1 wherein all of said panty portion has said terry type fabric structure.

3. A pantyhose garment having a pair of leg portions, a crotch, a waistband and a panty interconnecting said leg portions and said waistband, said garment including a pair of circularly knit seamless leg units and seam means joining said leg units, said seam means at least extending from the first point on said waistband through the crotch between said leg units and to a second point on said waistband substantially diametrically opposite said first point, each of said leg units comprising a substantially sheer fabric from a first zone adjacent said crotch away and below said crotch from said waistband throughout the rest of said leg portions, each of said leg units being formed of heavier fabric being knit of yarn of a higher denier than the yarn of said sheer fabric from a second zone adjacent said crotch and toward and above said crotch toward said waistband, and the fabric between said first and second zones including a portion adjacent said crotch having a fabric structure of the terry type including a ground yarn and a terry loop yarn knit with said ground yarn and having free yarn portions adapted to extend in unstressed condition outward from the fabric of said ground yarn.

4. A pantyhose garment as set forth in claim 3 wherein the remainder of said panty portion is knit of a fabric structure other than the terry type.

5. A pantyhose garment as set forth in claim 3 wherein all the fabric between said first and second zones is of said terry type.

6. A pantyhose garment as set forth in claim 3 wherein all the fabric in said panty portion between said first zone and said waistband is of the terry type.

.7. A pantyhose garment as set forth in claim 3 wherein said ground yarn and said terry loop yarn are nylon.

8. A pantyhose garment as set forth in claim 3 wherein said ground yarn is nylon and said terry loop yarn is of a material other than nylon.

9. A pantyhose garment as set forth in claim 3 wherein said leg units comprise all the fabric of the panty portion.

10. A pantyhose garment as set forth in claim 6 in cluding a third piece of knit fabric insert along at least a portion of said seam between said leg units, said insert being knit of a terry type fabric structure.

* =0 18 i III 

1. A pantyhose garment having a pair of leg portions, a waistband and a panty portion interconnecting said leg portions and said waistbanD, said garment including a pair of circularly knit seamless leg units and seam means joining said leg units, each of said leg units comprising a substantially sheer fabric in the leg portion and a heavier fabric knit of yarn of a higher denier than the yarn of said sheer fabric in said panty portion, said heavier fabric including at least a portion having a fabric structure of the terry type including a ground yarn and a terry loop yarn knit with said ground yarn and having free yarn portions adapted to extend in unstressed condition outward from the fabric of said ground yarn.
 2. A pantyhose garment as set forth in claim 1 wherein all of said panty portion has said terry type fabric structure.
 3. A pantyhose garment having a pair of leg portions, a crotch, a waistband and a panty interconnecting said leg portions and said waistband, said garment including a pair of circularly knit seamless leg units and seam means joining said leg units, said seam means at least extending from the first point on said waistband through the crotch between said leg units and to a second point on said waistband substantially diametrically opposite said first point, each of said leg units comprising a substantially sheer fabric from a first zone adjacent said crotch away and below said crotch from said waistband throughout the rest of said leg portions, each of said leg units being formed of heavier fabric being knit of yarn of a higher denier than the yarn of said sheer fabric from a second zone adjacent said crotch and toward and above said crotch toward said waistband, and the fabric between said first and second zones including a portion adjacent said crotch having a fabric structure of the terry type including a ground yarn and a terry loop yarn knit with said ground yarn and having free yarn portions adapted to extend in unstressed condition outward from the fabric of said ground yarn.
 4. A pantyhose garment as set forth in claim 3 wherein the remainder of said panty portion is knit of a fabric structure other than the terry type.
 5. A pantyhose garment as set forth in claim 3 wherein all the fabric between said first and second zones is of said terry type.
 6. A pantyhose garment as set forth in claim 3 wherein all the fabric in said panty portion between said first zone and said waistband is of the terry type.
 7. A pantyhose garment as set forth in claim 3 wherein said ground yarn and said terry loop yarn are nylon.
 8. A pantyhose garment as set forth in claim 3 wherein said ground yarn is nylon and said terry loop yarn is of a material other than nylon.
 9. A pantyhose garment as set forth in claim 3 wherein said leg units comprise all the fabric of the panty portion.
 10. A pantyhose garment as set forth in claim 6 including a third piece of knit fabric insert along at least a portion of said seam between said leg units, said insert being knit of a terry type fabric structure. 